Silent Hill: Awakening
by Todd Cooper
Summary: At first glance, Kim and Wesley are two distinct individuals, with very little in common. However, both share two notable similarities, both have a hidden past and both have ended up (by different means) in the lonely, foggy town of Silent Hill. Where the two share the same nightmare and ultimately find each other in each moment of desperation.
1. Chapter 1 - Into The Void

Wesley Anderson drove down the long foggy and empty highway on his foster brother's motorbike. Not more than a day ago, he had stolen it and it was very likely would never see his foster brother again to return it. It was a rash decision made in the heat of it moment. It had been only five days since Clarissa, the girl Wesley had loved more than the world itself had been brutally beaten to death and murdered alongside her parents, he knew it was no accident, no robbery, the murderer had a personal vendetta, and Wesley wasn't going to stop until he enacted his. It was also two days ago that he heard that the convicted killer was been sent to a special prison in the north-eastern town of Silent Hill, but the transport vehicle entering the town apparently vanished, Wesley knew it was up to him to take matters into his own hands, thus he took the bike and began his long trek from the big and chaotic city of Ashfield to the quiet and calming resort town. Knowing he was finally close and not more than a few minutes away, Wesley sped up on his bike as a tall figure emerged from the fog ahead. A large sign that read "Welcome to Silent Hill".

As he approached the large sign in the distance, the radio on the bike had begun to crackle up. The bike was a fairly customized piece of art by his brother, comfortable, with a rebel paint job that just screamed of rebellion, the infamous barred logo of Black Flag spray-painted on the side, the rims of the wheels painted to resemble flames, and Wesley had been listening to radio, which was playing through in-ear headphones.

 _"Blue sky to forever... the green gra-"_

The crackling and distorted sound of the radio made Wesley almost instantly tilt his body slightly so that he could take his one hand off the handle bar of the bike and yank out the headphones. But as he did, the engine of the bike started to crackle and rumble as well, the headlights that had led him through the thick fog had begun to flicker and then - turned off entirely, the bike engine cut out, and still going at a rather quick speed, completely flipped when the front wheel encountered a large crack in the road, sending Wesley flying head first into the hard wooden sign, that knocked him on the ground as the motorbike steered and skidded off the road and crashed into the woods.

Wesley had lifted himself up from the steep dirty terrain, his knees scraped up and head bleeding, he rested his right arm against the sign as support he carried himself back to his feet and wiped his left hand on his jeans to wipe off some of the dirt and bark chippings. He then felt his head which had hurt quite a bit from the impact and noticed almost instantly that he had been bleeding quite a bit, thankfully the would wasn't deep and it didn't look like he'd be bleeding for much longer, he remembered a story about his uncle's biking accident and he was relieved that his accident could've been much, much worse had the bike not slowed down some before the accident. Wesley climbed back up to the road and began walking through the dense fog, limping and on foot. Not sure what he was going to find, he soon stepped into a clearing, coming across an overlook of Toluca Lake above the evergreens, complete with a parking lot, restroom and the entrance tunnel to town, which had been unfortunately obstructed by a large landslide and the large boulders and rocks seemed to obstruct from finding any way into town.

"That's funny, I didn't hear anything about the main route being blocked." he thought.

Wesley looked over at the lake. Thankfully, he had done a bit of planning during his trip and had found another way into town that would lead him pass the outlaying ranches around the lake. As he walked, he was thankfully relieved to find that he wasn't the only person trying to enter the town, there appeared to be two women and a man all standing at the observation deck. He could barely make out who they were with all the fog, which is why he had hardly noticed them. He guessed them to be young adults or teenagers around his age, if not older. The girls wore rather revealing outfits, while the guy seemed to be the leather-jacket type. _Maybe they know something about the landslide?_ _Maybe that's why they're all there?_ Wesley wasn't certain, but if they did know anything about it he had to see if they were okay. Wesley hesitated at first, he really didn't want to talk to anybody unless it was necessary. Wesley wasn't exactly one for confrontation of any type, even if it was asking for help or offering it to somebody else, but despite his anxiety, he continued.

"Hey! You guys alright?" he called out. There was no response, just the breeze of fog and dead silence in the air.

The three simply turned and looked at him, before wandering towards him almost inhumanly, when they got closer, Wesley realized that they were no ordinary people at all, their eyes were black, and dripping with black liquid, their mouths were bloodily and gruesomely sown shut and they didn't seem very friendly. In a strike of fear, Wesley began running, down the staircase and through the thick, foggy forest, passing through the gates of a cemetery and various locations he simply continued running, for how long he didn't know, to where, he didn't know either. All he did know was that eventually, he had reached one of the foggy streets of what he quickly assumed to be South Vale. Now tired and out of breath, Wesley had felt ridiculously stupid for running, but when things got weird he knew he had to get the hell out of there. Now, he could focus on what he really came here for. Doing all the looking and asking around he could to find the man who killed Clarissa. Well, that was if the whole town wasn't like the monsters he had just encountered at the lake. Maybe, once he found the killer, Wesley could find out the meaning of the tape that he found - it had to have meant something.

Wesley looked around at the scenery around him. It was yet again quiet and foggy. He hated it more than anything, he continued down the road, passing the seemingly vacant houses. There seemed not to be another soul in sight, until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. He didn't know who it may have been, his reaction was to hide in the building nearest to him, which had been a place called Cafe Texan, but of course the door inside had been locked, leaving him stranded in the fog with whatever was approaching him. Wesley grabbed a iron pipe off of the ground where it laid and positioned himself to attack, staring into the abyss, trying to make out the silhouette of whatever had been wandering closer and closer to him.

The cool wind, blowing off that water of the lake pressed against her cheeks, giving them a rose-pink hue. The fog made it nearly impossible for her to see any more than a few feet in front of her, yet she still seemed to be the only living thing in sight. Most buildings of were boarded up or locked up tight. None of them looked like they had been used in the last decade as did the rest of the town at this point. None of the abandoned parked cars looked like they were even stable to drive. She had found a red truck on the side of the road which just so happened to have the keys inside, but putting them in the ignition proved to be useless. At this point, the only form of transportation she had was her feet, and despite the size of the town, she knew she was bound to find someone who could help her.

The kitchen knife turned and turned in her fingers, a useful weapon she was able to find at the nearby restaurant she had went into before. She honestly had no reason to grab it or bring it along with her, she hadn't run into anything that proved to be dangerous, but one never knew what they were going to run into with things as they were. By now she had already established that the town she was in wasn't _Shepherd's Glen_ anymore, but... someplace else. Where it was, she had no idea. How she got here, she didn't have that idea either. One minute, she's falling asleep in her warm bed, and then the next minute she's waking up on a park bench in the middle of an abandoned town.

The girl stopped in her tracks the second a silhouette of another came in focus through the fog. By the looks of it, they looked to be male and bit taller than her, though, most people she met were. Something was off though... They weren't just walking, they were... Readying a pipe as if they were about to attack. Immediately in response she jumped back and threw her hand-holding in the knife-in front of her, ready to defend at any minute.

"Don't come closer!" she called out in a shaky, yet frightened tone. Despite hiding behind the safety of her small knife, she still stepped back a few steps, confused and scared of what they were about to do.

Wesley instantly paused when he heard the girl call out. For a short moment, the fog cleared and he could see that girl wasn't messed up like the people at the observation deck. He walked towards her a bit, slowly and lowered the pipe, slowly putting it on the ground in front of him and raising his arms as if he was surrendering to defeat. He wasn't going to be stupid however, he kept the iron at the tips of his shoes in case things went sour and he needed to use it.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." he said in a calm and reassuring voice as she came into a clear view. He didn't mean to scare the girl. He looked at her, she was shorter than him by almost a foot and looked younger than him too, but he couldn't assume she was. He laughed it off in his thoughts while keeping his face serious the entire time. The town was empty, quiet, and the only people he had come across aside from her seemed like something from a demented zombie flick. She was definitely a sight for his sore eyes, which had been doing nothing but peering through fog for the last little while. The girl's muscles and nerves relaxed when the boy in front of her finally came into sight, like a face being unmasked. He looked to be around her age, with long black hair and a bit of facial stubble, he wore a customized denim vest over-top of a buttoned-up plaid shirt and his thick shoulders would almost make him look intimidating if his face didn't appear so youthful. When he put his pipe down and let her know that he wasn't going to cause harm, she practically wanted to punch herself for her actions. She was always jumping to conclusions. Ever since her incident with her ex, she had always been anxious around random strangers, especially ones that were men. It wasn't that she thought all men were bad, she knew that not to be true, but it didn't stop her mind from running rampant and keeping her on her toes at all times.

"I-I'm so sorry..." she said, trying to force some form of a smile on her face, letting him know that she wasn't running rabid with rage. She slowly put her hand down, tucking the knife back into the inside of her black boots where she kept it safe. She was honestly surprised to find someone now who was... alive. It had been nearly a day since she had last seen a soul and now suddenly this guy shows up out of nowhere. She hoped that maybe he knew something about what was going on...

"I'm Wes', what's your name? Furthermore, what in god's name is going on in this town?"

Wesley's statement showed that he was just as clueless as her. She had to force herself from not frowning at the news. She wasn't mad at him, of course, but she was about ready to curse this retched town and everything about it, wishing she could just go home and see her family once again.

"Looks like you're just as clueless as me. I was about to ask the same thing. Do you at least happen to know what this place is?"

She was about to tell the boy exactly why she asked that last question. It had to sound crazy through the eyes of someone else - asking what town they were in. She was here wasn't she? Surely she'd have to know! But that simply was not the case, not this time. She lived in Shepherd's Glen and one thing was for certain, this definitely wasn't that town. No, she knew that it was a better idea to stay away from any and all things that made her sound like she just escaped from a mental hospital.

"If you ask me - it's a ghost town." Wesley answered her question paused for a quick second in thought.

She couldn't agree more with his response. She had seen her fair share of ghosts-towns in the past, on the web, this one could most definitely be included. But it just made her question even more. There were various 'why's' and 'how's' that were running through her head, but yet absolutely no answers to any of them. Just standing there on the cold and bitter street, she could tell that this place held a thousand secrets that were waiting to be discovered. At the same time, a part of her was worried what she'd find, after all some things were just simply better left unanswered.

"You're not from around here are you?" he continued. Wesley sighed and picked up the pipe yet again, only this time, swinging it across onto his back. She looked harmless enough, not like some crazy lady who was going to gut him with a knife for his innards.

Wesley was happy when she smiled originally, it provided some sense of comfort and relief when everything else just felt completely ominous. He didn't actually care if she was some cute girl, or an old bearded man. It was simply great to see another face. Wesley didn't know if he should ask her about the zombie-like creatures - or rather - Clarissa's murderer. Would she believe him if he said he was looking for someone who he was pretty sure was already dead? Probably not. By the looks of things, she seemed to be just as clueless as he was - if not more. The girl simply nodded her head once he finished his response.

"You'd be correct. I'm from Shepherd's Glen, born and raised, I... I don't know what happened. I don't even know how I got here. I don't remember, at least..." she slightly flinched as Wesley drew closer to her, but she tried her best not to make it obvious.

One thing that her older brother had taught her when she was young was that 'a sign of fear was a sign of weakness', and he knew better than anyone that she was a bit of a coward, especially in situations like these, and although he tried his best to snap her out of that behavior. The boy standing in front of her didn't seem like he was going to harm her. He actually seemed pretty calm, charming, and friendly in his demeanor around her, and it helped her stay somewhat relaxed. Wesley didn't question her on the fact that she had no clue where she was. He figured it wouldn't be polite to ask questions, if she was kidnapped or drank too much, it might be embarrassing or too much to ask her such a question.

"I'm not either. I'm from long ways away. I came here to meet an ex- an extraordinary friend who I haven't seen in ages." he coughed, nearly having explained his reasons for being here to a complete stranger - which now he realized didn't seem like such a great idea. Wesley took a few more steps closer to her so he could actually see her without having to try to squint his eyes now and then. He could now easily tell she was shorter than him by nearly a foot, she was Asian and had a pretty thin body shape that had caught his eye, but he shook off any thoughts about her relatively attractive appearance and looked out in the distance. He didn't want to seem like a creep. Instead, he focused his thoughts into the quietness that was the town of Silent Hill. The place reminded him of a documentary he had watched on Chernobyl and what he remembered of that town instantly flushed to mind.

"So, this frie-" within seconds of her starting her next question, a loud noise could be heard in a distance, one that sounded as if came from something that wasn't human. She quickly jumped and turned to the sound, just about ready to draw her small weapon once more, but when there was nothing there-in sight at least-she stopped and turned back to her new acquaintance with another frightened look.

"We should get out of here, and talk somewhere more lovely." he spoke softly, he looked around and coughed into his arm.

That's when he noticed a small apartment building not far down the street from where they were. He wasn't certain from the fog, but it had looked like making a run for it seemed like a good idea. Her head quickly nodded again, ready to leave just as he was. She didn't know where they'd go, but anywhere sounded better than here. She noticed him looking around, following his eyes periodically to every which direction, hoping that they'd eventually land on their next destination. The only place that seemed the least bit welcoming was a place across the way.

"Let's go!" she said quickly, hearing another scrape on the concrete from the same direction it had come from before. She even took her knife back out as a safety mechanism for her, just in case something were to happen.

Her feet took her as fast as they could possibly go, not once looking back behind her. She had not seen what they were running from, nor did she hear anymore of the strange noises, but she kept running just as he was. She wasn't going to let herself stop or turn back, not now. It was like something was pushing was her, not letting her stop until she reached that door. Those memories, those retched memories with that boy she once called her "lover" came rushing back into her head as they made it to the front steps of the complex.

 _"I saw you with him. I saw the way he looked at you! I told you not to leave, but you don't listen! You never listen." Her small body fell to the floor with the first contact of his fist against her cheekbone. Not once did her eyes leave his, seeing only the rabid eyes of a wild animal. He wasn't the same man she met before, not the man who held her gently, protecting her and showing her his love. What she saw in his eyes was the farthest thing from love._

Through an open gate and into the building, Wesley ran inside first and checked to see if there was anyone or anything lurking within. Thankfully it was empty, he turned back to the open door and saw in the distance the monster that he heard, a large skinny figure dragging an axe at it's side - it had no face, just pale, deformed skin. He grabbed the girl's hand, yanking her in and slammed the door as tight as he could. She pressed her back against the wall, trying to catch what was left of her breath. The only the look on Wesley's face told her that whatever was out there was far beyond her comprehension. She could only hear the same sounds that were heard earlier, telling her that it was now closer to them. Thankfully, he had shut the door before anything else could happen, she could only hope that whatever it was out there wasn't going to find them in here. The windows had already been boarded up from what he could tell, and the only way out of the place seemed to be by going up. He walked over to the mailboxes and attempted to turn on the light next to it. Nothing. Wesley knew it was getting dark outside, Heck, to make matter's worse, it was already _hella_ dark inside. He was relieved however to find two flashlights and a radio hidden in the mailboxes.

He grabbed them from their location and handed one of the flashlights to the girl, placing the other one in the pocket of his vest. She grabbed the flashlight from his hand, giving him a thankful smile while rushing to turn it on and catching a glimpse of their dark surroundings.

"Just saying, I still don't know your name." Wesley spoke, he spoke as he walked back over towards the mailboxes.

"My name's Kimberly. Most just call me Kim though. I don't mind either one."

Wesley nodded. Heading back over to the mailboxes, only then taking notice of a red note nailed to the wall and key hanging from the nail. He flicked on the flashlight in his pocket and picked up the key from the hook. He flashed the light down and looked at the key, the numbers '207' engraved in it. Wesley pocketed the key and looked at Kimberly.

"Kim, it looks like I've found us a place to stay for the night."

With a sense of dread, Wesley looked up, the staircase leading up to the second floor was rather large, he began walking towards the direction of the stairs adjacent to him. Kimberly hesitated, she still didn't entirely trust him despite his warm demeanor and she definitely wasn't certain about the dark apartment building being much of a safe haven. But ultimately, she followed him and the two begin slowly walking up the staircase, leading them to traverse to the second floor, through a door, and then down the long dark corridor, a putrid odor filling much of the hall, the smell being accompanied by the decaying pale wallpaper above them and the ripped blue carpet beneath their feet. Finally, they arrived at a room with the number '207' on it.

"This must be the one." he muttered to himself as he took the key and inserted it into the lock, twisting the doorknob and opening up into the room.

When they finally found their destination, and opened the door, what they found inside was the least of what both Kimberly and Wesley had expected. It was unlike the rest of the building, or town for that matter. While she was expecting something that looked just as old and dirty as the rest, this one looked as if they had just entered another world. Like they were back in Ashfield or Shepherd's Glen. Wesley peered over at the lantern that was sitting on a dresser by the boarded up window, a ray of sunset mysteriously peeking through the fog and through the window. Wesley approached the lantern and when he turned it on, the room was well-lit through the darkness. He decided to crack down on the nitty-gritty details of the room, searching for anything that may have been of use. He looked at the small little TV parked in a chair and tried to turn it on, but to no apparent surprise, it simply didn't work. There was no food in the non-operable fridge, and only a box of granola bars in the cupboards. The only thing left of any interest was the bed, which was a normal queen sized mattress suited for two people, which wasn't entirely to either's interest.

"I wouldn't mind, uh, sleeping on the floor." Wesley told Kim, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, it's fine, I think I'll just sleep on the chair, thanks."

Wesley felt bad and frowned at her response. He wanted to offer they trade, but he knew that she would insist, thus he decided to abide her wishes. Regardless, all that he knew for sure was that this place was a sanctuary for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Warm Place

"This may sound weird, but I suggest we stay in this place for the night. It'd be a bit too dangerous to be wondering around aimlessly in the dark would it not?" Wesley asked.

"Well, it looks comfy..." Kim said as she looked around. She had to admit that the one bed caught her off guard. She was hesitant, of course, what girl wouldn't be? She had just met this boy and barely even knew anything about him, she had her doubts and was hesitant to follow his lead instead of her own, but honestly, nothing told her to be worried about him either. Her instincts haven't let her down yet, and she trusted they wouldn't now.

"Heh, you know, usually at this point the boy offers flowers or takes me on a date first, at least." she joked, with a bit of cautiousness yet playfulness in her voice. She might as well lighten the mood, for both of their sakes if nothing else.

Kim slipped off her black boots and took off her jacket, resting it on the back of the chair that sat in-front of the television where she would be sleeping. She let out a sigh of relief as she sat down on the edge of the bed with Wesley, on the side that was closest to the window.

"So, you're here looking for a friend?" she asked, trying to make some form of conversation to take both of their minds off of the current events.

Wesley nodded slightly. He was glad to see that she seemed accepting of the idea of settling down instead of heading back out into the dense fog with whatever monsters where out there. Though, it confused him that she'd take off her jacket, as it was the middle of November, and there wasn't really any heat-source other than what was radiating off of the lantern.

 _"Maybe she's warm enough?"_ He pondered. He was going to offer his vest to her, but decided not to, if she wanted one, he was sure she'd just grab her own. Wesley put his vest on the desk, took the iron pipe he had been holding onto and placed it against the wall next to the bed and layed back on the bed next to the girl. The whole town had a sort of Stephen King feel, and he wasn't very fond of it. He didn't like the idea of creatures in the fog. It made him wonder if in another three years they'd find themselves in a Darabont-styled zombie apocalypse. But with that aside, he just sat next to her, noticing that she had some scars on her. He could tell they were aged and purposely hidden, so they weren't from the monster's outside. Wesley's mind over-analyzed the details of everything he could remember since he arrived in town, but he mostly focused on Kimberly. _Could've been in a bad relationship before? Did she had an abusive father or something of the sort?_ That would explain why she didn't seem all that open to him.

"Yeah, I came here looking for a friend - a friend who I was pretty sure had died. But the other day, I found a tape in some of their belongings. it told me come here, and here I am regretting that decision."

Kimberly sat on the bed, listening to his words, as she rummaged through the drawers next to the bed. Like a motel, there was a Holy Bible sitting along in the top drawer. Being raised by a Protestant mother and an Agnostic father, she was never one of the religious sort. Never had she gone to church, or prayed before dinner and sleeping. She shut the drawer, deciding not to pay any mind to it anymore than she had and opened up the small door below the drawer, seeing none other than a phone-book titled, "Toluca County Pages", and a smaller book placed underneath. Her mind was relieved, this meant that they were still in the general area where Shepherd's Glen was. She only knew a handful of the surrounding towns around Toluca Lake, but had never been to any of them besides Pleasant River where her college was.

She reached down into the drawer to lift up the large phone book and grab the one magazine that seemed to be hidden underneath. At first glance, it looked like a tourist magazine, something that one usually found when on vacation, but when she finally got a full view of the cover, her heart stopped and her lungs went empty.

 _"Welcome to Silent Hill. Where your memories will last forever..."_

She had heard rumors, stories, tales of this town while growing up in the small town of Shepherd's Glen. Dark rumors of people going missing. The residents kidnapping and killing young girls. An old cult that prayed off of children. To her, it was only scary tales, meant to keep her away. She had never taken it to heart nor had she truly put any thought into it. Her whole life while growing up, her parents told her clearly to stay away from that town. She was never allowed to cross over into its borders for reasons unknown. She always figured it was because of the stories. There were times where her older brother, Kyle, had dared the two to go, to run off and see if the rumors were true, but every time they had they were always stopped by a passerby and taken back home. There was one time where a patrolling police officer stopped them, scolded them, and then escorted them home. They had never heard the end of it afterwards; both of them being grounded for a full two weeks. It only made her more curious. And yet, here she was, and it was living up to all those scary stories.

Wesley thought about Clarissa, he didn't want to go all out as to say that she was the love of his life or anything, because despite all his wishes, that seemed to be very far from true, but he was hoping maybe he could meet a few friends, find someone else and move on from Clarissa, despite how impossible it had seemed. Wesley wasn't quite certain how he felt about Kim, which was odd. He barely even knew this girl, but he felt like they were already friends. He was confused, maybe it's because these two seemed to be the only normal humans in the town, she was nice, compassionate, not really a talkative girl, but then again, more talkative than he had been, or at least he thought. or maybe it was because of his desperation and longing for love again that got him. If any case, he just wanted to know if she trusted him or not, so he reached his hand out and attempted to place it on her's just to see her reaction.

 _"Silent Hill..."_ her mind froze, still staring at the name in big bold letters at the top of the front cover. It practically sent her flying off the bed when the sudden touch of Wesley's hand brushed her shoulder. She was more startled than anything, not expecting him to do such an thing, yet after what was just going through her head, she was a bit spooked as well. Wesley was slightly surprised at her immediate reaction, he obviously expected some sort of reaction, but not that. The girl was about to apologize, hoping she hadn't scared him, but a loud crash from the hallway interrupted her and sent their attention elsewhere. She immediately grabbed her knife, but Wesley had already grabbed the iron pipe and headed towards the door, signaling to her to be quiet. She complied, staying on her side of the room, holding the handle of the knife tightly in both her hands as if her life depended on it. When he left the room, Wesley saw another door wide open that he didn't recognize before. He couldn't see into the dark room because the windows had been blacked out entirely but before he knew it, a strange creature emerged from the black of the room and lounged at him, knocking him to his feet.

"Wait!" Kimberly called out in a loud whisper as he left the room. A few curse words made their way through her mouth, slowly walking forward towards the door. She couldn't just let him go out there himself! Sure, he was a boy who looked like he could stand his ground all right, but it wasn't like her to just let others walk senselessly into danger.

The creature wasn't distinctly human at all, it looked like a ball of chewed bubblegum, only it was a pale brown and was without a doubt a monster. Wesley took the pipe, returning to his feet and swinging it above his head, bashing the front of the creature inwards with the pipe, spewing out a sickly and slightly acidic black goo that looked to be the creatures blood. Wesley looked at the creature as it writhed in pain, he decided for the sake of his and Kim's safety to put whatever the thing was out of it's misery and beat the thing to death with the pipe. It wasn't until Kim heard the grunts of the boy and the loud sounds of... something else, that she quickly ran into the hallway finding him on the floor bashing his pipe into what looked like a mound of flesh. She stood there, staring with wide eyes at the sight, not knowing what to make of it. Confused, scared, anxious, there were too many emotions flowing through her at this point. Wesley swung the pipe down repeatedly with all his might, splattering more of the creature's blood on his clothing and the pipe, each blow doing exceedingly more damage than the last. He prayed silently in this thoughts that Kimberly wasn't watching, maybe she'd turn away and ignore it. But that was all just his hopeful wishes.

"W-what..." words could barely make their way out, choking on her own breath as she felt her pulse increase and a chill making its way down her spine. No words that were able to make it out truly expressed how she was feeling right now. Her legs trembled underneath her as she stared at the body laying in a meaty lump on the floor. Despite the lack of the light in the hallway, she preferred it that way. The heavy amounts of light in hallways would have just made it that much worse. Having most of its features masked in the darkness was probably the only thing right now that kept her from passing out on the floor. From what she could see, however, she hoped that it was already like that before he started with his pipe. She hoped that whatever it was... it wasn't human, but she honestly couldn't piece together what she was staring at.

Wesley stared down at the creature. His heart was pounding, pins of sweat dripping down his face. His thoughts a repeated train of cursing. Stunned, he looked back to find Kimberly not far behind him staring at the monster he had just killed. Wesley wiped the sweat from his face and stumbled back into the room, passing Kimberly entirely and collapsed onto the bed, but Kim's eyes didn't once leave the fleshy body on the ground. Natural instincts told her to follow him, but her feet wouldn't allow her to do so. Her shaking legs and heavy feet kept her in her place, for fear of falling if she even moved a step. But she couldn't keep staring at it. He didn't know what he just saw so the first thing he did was close his eyes and open them again. Hoping that he'd be back at home - that maybe this was all a dream. The second she moved one of her feet, she fell towards the wall, her hands catching her and holding onto the side for dear life before turning around and pressing her back against it. Her breathing became heavier, and a lump was stuck in her throat making it even harder for her to breath. Until her stomach churned and sent half of what was inside upwards. She held her hand against her mouth in response, leaning forward to the ground below, but nothing happened. The longer she stood there, the more she felt it become harder to breath and the more she could feel her body temperature rise. Desperate to leave the sight behind her, she slowly and carefully walked back to the room, still relying on the wall to keep her steady. It was no surprise to see her new friend lying on the bed, probably trying just as hard as she was to just forget about what happened. She wanted to ask him what it was, but nothing brought her to do so. All she could do was reach her side of the bed and lay on it, just as he was, beside him. She was afraid to say anything at this point, scared of how the boy next to her would respond, but the truth was they couldn't lie on this bed forever. Something had to happen.

The knife that was still in her hand fell to the ground as her arm rested off the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" she asked. It was probably a silly question at this point, but she honestly couldn't think to say anything else at this point that would make the situation better, and if she tried, it would just prove to be useless. She actually wasn't expecting an answer from the one next to her. It just felt good to break the silence. Wesley turned on his side, still lying on the bed. Wesley didn't quite know what to say, heck he didn't know if this was real, or all one big dream. Maybe he had went off the far-end and this was all a hallucination. He was always able to tell real from fake, but everything around him seemed very real. He wasn't concerned about that at the moment anyways. He was just confused. He didn't care much for answers or logical explanations as to what was going on. He just wanted reassurance that something was right among all the wrong. Hearing Kim ask about the monster, and ask if he was okay. He didn't know if he was. With that thought he opened his mouth.

"I came here looking for my girlfriend, Clarissa. She died - someone killed her, five days ago. I guess I decided to travel all this way, because I really had nothing else for me there. She really was the only thing I had in life. I don't know. I know I won't find her here, but I still had to come for some stupid reason. If only I knew what I was running from." Wesley spoke, explaining the partial truth about his "friend" that not even four minutes earlier he told himself he wouldn't tell anybody about.

Kim's head turned to Wesley as he spoke. She couldn't even imagine how he was feeling at this time right now, losing the one you loved so much. It had to have been one of the worst feelings in the world. One of those times in life where you just wanted to rip your own heart out, lay down, and never love again. She was only thankful that she didn't know how that felt. Sure, she lived through her grandfather passing away, and that was hard in itself. She was always close to her grandparents while growing up, and her grandfather was pretty much like a second father to her. But there was no way she could compare that to someone losing the love of their life. It made her wonder if her ex would have ever cared if he were in that situation. If she was ever killed, would he have even given it a second thought? She looked over at the boy once more and took notice of the blood that began to drip down across the bed from his forehead.

"You're bleeding, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine it's nothing, it's just from earlier. I guess all the stress and adrenaline just pumped the blood into my head or something." Wesley shrugged it off, grabbing a nearby rag and pressing it to his head where the wound was. The pain still stung, but it wasn't unbearable. Kim nodded, her concern fading as she laid back onto the be and stared back up at the ceiling, her mind wandering off, looking back to all those memories of when her and her brother was younger. There were times where they even told scary ghost stories about the town of Silent Hill and Toluca Lake. She used to hear a common ghost story from her grandfather, that years ago a boat went missing in the middle of the lake. They were never able to find the remains of the boat, but it was believed that the dead bodies and spirits of the people on board still haunted the lake's bed. The part about the boat going missing was true, but the part about the dead bodies, of course, she didn't believe.

 _Growing up in Shepherd's Glen, you always heard dark rumors about this place; about Silent Hill. The scary stories, tales, secrets that were spread around town, we thought they were only there to keep us away, to scare us. I never actually listened to it, but my parents made it clear to stay far away from Silent Hill. There were times where my brother and I wouldn't listen, we'd decide to go anyways, but we'd never make it. Random people would pull over on the side of the road just to pick us up and take us back home because it was obvious what we were doing. Silent Hill used to a busy town, bustling with tourists. Until the disappearances started happening, people started going missing, and that was when the rumors started. I never put any stock into those stories, but now... Those stories didn't even come close..._

Kim wanted to shake it out of her head now. There was no point to ponder those old stories anymore, it was clear now that there was more about this town than any of them predicted. She turned her head once again to Wesley who looked back at her. It was odd... that feeling of looking straight into someone's eyes. When she was with her ex, she learned to never to do that with him. For some reason, he believed that if she looked him in the eyes, it meant that she was trying to be offensive and hostel. That it meant she wasn't being submissive to him like he demanded. It made her get used to not looking at anyone in the eyes, but here she was looking into this boy's eyes. It didn't stop there though, within seconds she felt herself flinching once more when he wrapped his arm around her. She froze at the touch, it was the first time another of the opposite sex bothered to show such affection towards her. She wasn't used to it, not at all. But his touch was different. It was more gentle and warm than Chad's. The touch had a sort of emotion that his never did. It was strange when he leaned into her, pressing his lips against hers, even though she had just met him, she wasn't pushing away. Wesley's brain fired rapid thoughts, telling him that his actions were wrong and that the kiss was a mistake... The things outside, his dead ex-girlfriend... but at this point, Wesley wasn't focusing on his thoughts any longer and was just moving on instinct and basic motivation. For the last year, Kimberly swore up and down that she would force any boy away who tried such actions. She wouldn't let another get close to her again, especially this early, but deep down, she had longed for it too. She missed that sort of interaction with another, the feeling of being wanted. It startled her, but it wasn't exactly unwanted either. When they parted, the only thing she could really do was lay there and smile back at him.


End file.
